Snowshoeing on Seiland Island

8 DAYS - Level of difficulty : Tough

GROUP OF 5 to 15 people - Departure/Arrival: Alta

This is an exclusive circuit in the far north of Norway in the heart of an Arctic region. The national park that covers most of Seiland Island, still unknown to the general public (see box next page), boasts two glaciers, deep fjords, and wilderness covered with a thick white coat for over 5 months a year. During the long winter nights, we can see fantastic Northern Lights illuminating the landscapes with their strange, dancing gleams. Despite its vast size, the island only has a handful of inhabitants, mostly Sami (Lapps), fishermen and reindeer herders. For one whole week, we’ll use a comfortable accommodation in the tiny hamlet of Hønseby as a base for our hikes. This program of base-camp excursions is extremely flexible and lets you adapt to weather conditions. What’s more, it allows any participant who gets tired stay warm and have a rest indoors.

DAY BY DAY

Day 1: Arrive at Alta airport, meet your guide and the rest of the group, then take a minibus to Seiland Island. Settle down in Seiland for the next 6 nights.

Day 2: A beautiful hike, starting from our accommodation to the summit of Hønsebyfjellet, which overlooks the north of the island and the big bay of Survika. In clear weather, the view from the top is grandiose. You can see the continent and the glaciers in the center of Seiland Island.

Day 3: Today we go up a small, wooded valley to reach a pass where you sometimes come across wild reindeer. Then back down to Vassbuktvannet Lake and its little refuge. The return goes through a pass and then crosses Lake Eidvågvannet, which is frozen, to the hamlet of Hønsebyfjellet.

Day 4: An outing by boat to discover the great fjord of Jøfjorden. This magnificent fjord goes into the heart of Seiland national park. On the way back, we’ll stop on the little island of Vinna, where we’ll hike to the top of Kokkeberget (390 m / 1,280 ft).

Day 5: We leave our accommodation for the big lake of Storvannet and then go to Tverrfjorden Fjord. We go through very diverse landscapes—small wooded valleys, frozen lakes, fjord—and regain our accommodation via a mountain pass.

Day 6: After a short transfer, we begin the ascent of the Skarfjellet summit. Beneath it, there is a large colony of seabirds. The climb up the crest overlooking the narrow sound of Eidvågen is magnificent. We go back down to Tyvvannet Lake and return to our accommodation.

Day 7: A little outing in the morning to watch reindeer (if we’re lucky). In the afternoon, we’ll go back to Alta, where we’ll spend a night in a downtown hotel. Free evening in Alta.

Day 8: Transfer to airport and return to France or country of departure.

All meals (except those mentioned as not included in the "detailed hiking guide of the trip" (pdf)

The price does not include

Travel insurance**

All air transportation (to and from Alta)

Morning and noon meals on Day 1, dinner Day 7, lunch and dinner Day 8

Possible drinks and tips

* A quotation will be made for every demand. Registration fees are included in the prices. Prices does not include flights from Paris or other city to Oslo - Oslo to Alta and back - circa 450€) and may be subject to changes depending on exchange rate (Euro/NOK).

**Travel insurance is required to participate to our trips. If you already have your own insurance coverage, we will ask you to provide us a copy during registration. We can also provide you with a travel insurance (Europ Assistance). The amount of the insurance we provide correspond to 3.65% of total tour price.

How to register

You are interested in one of our trips and you want to register ? Here is how you can do it:

1. Read the complete pdf file of the tour (the "detailed hiking guide of the tour").

2. If you have any questions about the trip you have chosen, and you can not find the answers in the "detailed hiking guide of the tour", please contact us:

- through the inquiry form (accessible by clicking on the button "Register" for each circuit ) or

1. You will get a swift answer to your inquiry or registration demand, with a quote for the trip you have asked for. 2. Once the quote is accepted, we ask you to download the registration form and the general and special conditions of sale. 3. Finally, after having read our terms and conditions of sale, you can complete your registration form and send it back to us by email.

Remember that you can contact us anytime , we are here to answer your questions quickly.

Highlights

destinations off the beaten path

5 snowshoe hikes

exceptional snow coverage

a sea excursion on the fjord

comfortable accommodation

English-speaking European mountain guide

Seiland National Park

The island of Seiland is in Finnmark county off the city of Hammerfest at 70° of latitude. Although people have lived on Seiland for 7,000 years, this large island (583 km2 / 362 mi.2) has less than 150 inhabitants during the year, spread over six little coastal hamlets. Today, over half the island is a national park with many fjords of different sizes surrounded by mountains that plunge into the sea. Its cliffs shelter an extremely rich population of birds of prey. Seiland also has two glaciers and its subsoil, composed of ultrabasic rocks (rich in iron and magnesium minerals and silica), is the basis of rich, abundant plant life. Some areas of the island outside the national park are used as sheep pastures—a very primitive race (the villsau), well adapted to rude climatic conditions. Reindeer are also present on the island, which provides them with summer pastures from April to October. Reindeer give birth on the island and fatten up all summer before swimming back to the continent for the winter season. During some harsh winters, when the weather makes crossing the fjord too difficult, the reindeer remain on the island, fed by their Sami (Lapp) herders, in order to get through the winter. The island of Seiland is still rarely visited. It offers infinite possibilities for hiking (and snowshoeing) and skiing, but also for hunting and fishing.

Video

Level of difficulty?

moderate to tough -minimum 800 m of total uphill climb/day. 7 to 6 hours’ walk per day.> Keys to success: capable of exercising one hour every other or third day (endurance sport - jogging, swimming, tennis, etc.). Mountain trekking or hiking experience. Capable of adapting to difficult conditions (weather, simple accommodation, etc.) and of maintaining a quite high level of endurance.

No, you are taking care of your flights and can therfore choose what suits you best (time and prices*).

*You need to the acces by your own means to the départure place of the trip (Lofoten), but we can help you at no extra cost to arrange your transfer. more info

How to get to the starting point (Alta)

Scandinavian airlines (SAS and its subsidiary Wideroe, as well as the low cost NORWEGIAN) offers flights from Paris to Alta with a stopover in Oslo or Copenhagen. Easy departures also from Brussels, Amsterdam...

You can contact us if you need help finding the right flights, we will check what are the best flights available for you.

Day -1 (Sunday) flight Paris - Alta*/ with SAS or another campany

*you will need a hotel room in Alta (we can book this for you)

Day 1 (Monday) - start of the trip

Day 8 (Monday) Flight Alta - Paris / with NORWEGIAN or SAS

Traveller reviews

"We've had all kinds of weather, and went out by sun or storm; every weather had its own charm and left great memories. My favorite place is the island of Vinna, which we reached by boat to climb its summit, there was a unique feeling of 'end of the world', the ruins on the island adding to the mystery of the place. An extraordinary guide: very professional (we felt really in good hands), he was able to make the best out of the weather and the environment, great human qualities; integration and sharing of knowledge. Bruno made a great contribution to make this trip unforgettable. The transfert from Alta to Seiland by minibus was finally a very good thing, it allowed us to discover the diversity of the landscapes of north Norway and have a taste of what we tended, a good transition. The accommodation was super comfortable and well equipped, perfect for our small group."